March 26, 2011

I have stopped calling my "okara bread" bread, and now I call it okara yaki. Yaki derives from yaku (to bake, grill, burn, etc.), and means something baked, grilled, etc. And, I have changed the texture of the dough. It is now more like batter than dough.私の「おからパン」をパンと呼ぶのは止め、今では「おから焼き」と呼んでいます。「焼き」とは「焼く」に由来し、焼いた物という意味です。それから、生地の硬さを変え、いまではdoughというよりbatterのようです。

Premade okara yaki, topped with pizza cheese and grilled, and then sprinkled with sesame seeds, topped with some katsuobushi, and sprinkled with soy sauce:作っておいたおから焼きにピザ用のチーズを載せて焼いて、ゴマを載せ、鰹節を載せ、しょう油をかけたもの：

Directions:1. Finely chop enoki, and put in a blender. Add water and milk, and process.2. Finely chop shiitake. Remove dirt from stems, and finely chop them. (Don't just throw them away!)3. Cut eryngii thinly lengthwise. 4 slices are required per okonomiyaki, 16 in total for 4 okonomiyaki.4. Coarsely cut cabbage into 1-cm squares.5. Sift 200 g flour, and put in a bowl. Add baking powder and instant dashi.6. Add processed enoki to the bowl in 4. in 3 parts, mixing well each time.7. Add shiitake, cabbage, eggs, tenkasu, and sakura ebi to the bowl, and mix well.8. Put a small amount of oil in a 18-cm diameter frying pan, put on the stove, and put 1/4 of the contents of the bowl.9. Place 4 slices of eryngii on top.10. Cook with the lid on for 2 min.11. Flip and cook with the lid on for 2 min.12. Flip and cook without the lid for 2 min.13. Flip again and cook without the lid for 2 min.14. Transfer to a plate, and cut into appropriate size.Repeat steps 8 to 14.15. Let each diner place their favorite toppings (such as aonori, katsuobushi, beni shoga, okonomiyaki sauce, ketchup, and mayonnaise).

Cooking time: 30-40 min.You can shorten the time by using two frying pans to make two at the same time.

Comments:Inspired by "enoki koori", I processed enoki into pulp in a blender and used it instead of yama imo (lit. mountain potato). Partly due to the effect of the baking powder, the okonomiyaki turned out soft and delicious.I used 18-cm frying pans so that the okonomiyaki could be made into a size of "16.4 cm in diameter and 1.9 cm in thickness", which was declared as an ideal size for okonomiyaki in a TV show. You can make decent okonomiyaki even if you don't have a hot plate!If you think that eryngii alone is not enough, place some pork, too.You may want to finely chop enoki instead of processing in a blender. When I made it for the first time, I didn't process enoki in a blender, but no one noticed that there was enoki in the okonomiyaki.When you flip okonomiyaki, you may find it difficult to do so with a turner. If so, you may want to hold a plate in your right hand and the frying pan in your left, transfer the okonomiyaki by sliding it without flipping it, and then return the okonomiyaki to the frying pan quickly by flipping it this time.Note: Chinese cabbage was sold cheap, so I used it instead of cabbage this time! Be flexible in cooking!

March 23, 2011

This post is continued from the March 21 post on nametake.なめたけに関する３月21日の投稿の続きです。

I grated some daikon to try the nametake and daikon oroshi (grated daikon) combination.なめたけと大根おろしの組み合わせを試すため、大根を少しおろしました。I used this oni oroshi, which I had previously bought at the 100-yen shop. Real oni oroshi, usually made of bamboo, are much expensive (probably 1,000 yen or above).Images of oni oroshiOni oroshi can coarsely grate daikon.

この鬼おろしを使いました。以前に100円ショップで買ったものです。本当の鬼おろしは通常、竹製で、ずっと高価（多分、1,000円以上）です。鬼おろしの画像鬼おろしは、大根を粗くおろせます。I mixed some daikon oroshi and nametake together, and had them with hot rice.大根おろしとなめたけを混ぜて、温かいご飯と食べました。Sorry to say, but I didn't find the combination particularly good.残念ながら、この組み合わせが特に美味しいとは思いませんでした。

Note: As I previously mentioned, nametake has two meanings:1) Enoki (enokitake or enokidake, to be more precise)2) Enoki simmered with soy sauce, mirin, and other seasonings.It more often means the latter.

The following description is NOT true:Nametake means the wild version of enoki.

Note also that nametake is NOT nameko. (It is true that in some areas of Japan, nameko is called nametake or numeritake.)

Since I got the soy milk maker, I have used it on a regular basis, and I have made some improvements along the way.豆乳メーカーをもらってから、定期的に使っています。その中で改良を少し加えました。

I no longer use the supplied measuring cup, which is not properly calibrated, and I use this measuring cup instead, which I previously bought at the 100-yen shop.正しい目盛りのついていない、付属の計量カップを使うのは止め、前に100円ショップで買った、この計量カップを使っています。A little more than 200 ml, which is 220 - 85 (weight of the cup) = 135 g200 mlより少し多い。200 - 85（計量カップの重さ） = 135 gです。I usually use 120-125 g soy beans with 1,200 ml water, which makes the water level a little lower than the lower limit on the pot.通常は、120～125 gの大豆と1,200 mlの水を使っています。水位はポットの下限線よりちょっと下になります。I drew some lines on the container, together with their corresponding volumes, so that I can tell how much soy milk I got. This time, I got about 900 ml soy milk and this amount of very soy-milky okara (soy pulp).容器には、線とそれに対応する量を描きました。これで、豆乳がどのくらいできたか分ります。今回は、豆乳が900 ml、そして豆乳をいっぱい含んだおからがこれだけできました。

March 21, 2011

Nametake has two meanings. One is enoki and the other is enoki simmered with soy sauce, mirin, and other seasonings. When we hear the word, we usually associate it with the later.なめたけ（ナメタケ）には意味が二つあります。一つは「えのき」、もう一つは、えのきをしょう油、みりんなどで煮たものです。なめたけと言うと、普通は後者を指します。

This is my second attempt to make nametake. For my first attempt, I simmered 200 g enoki with 3 tbsp each of soy sauce and mirin, which resulted in very salty nametake. For the second attempt, I simmered 300 g enoki with 2 tbsp each of soy sauce and mirin. I think it is a success.なめたけを作るのはこれで２回目です。一回目は、200 gのえのきをしょう油、みりん各大さじ３杯で煮て、とても塩辛いナメタケになってしまいました。二回目は、300 gのえのきをしょう油、みりん各大さじ２杯で煮ました。成功したと思います。

A friend told me that nametake goes very well with grated daikon. I will try this combination and report back.お友達が言うには、なめたけは大根おろしととてもよく合うそうです。この組み合わせを試して、また報告します。

I used this pancake mix.このホットケーキの素を使いました。I used two non-stick frying pans to shorten the total cooking time.全体の調理時間を短縮するため、テフロン加工のフライパンを２つ使いました。The texture was almost the same as that of normal, okara-less pancakes.食感は通常の、おからの入ってないホットケーキと殆ど同じでした。Because I didn't add additional sugar, the resultant pancakes were less sweet than normal ones. My kind of pancake!砂糖を足さなかったので、出来上がったホットケーキは通常のものより甘さ控えめでした。私好みのホットケーキです！

March 19, 2011

I previously posted about the Ohsakina that I grew in my vegetable garden. Ohsakina is said to be the best around this time of year, and is considered to herald the spring here in the Snow Country. Two days ago, I bought one bunch.菜園で育てた大崎菜については以前に投稿しましたが、大崎菜は一年のうち今頃が一番美味しいと言われており、また、ここ雪国で春を告げる野菜と思われています。二日前、一束買いました。 Almost everyone says that Ohsakina is the best as ohitashi.みんな、大崎菜はおひたしにするのが一番美味しいと言います。

March 18, 2011

In Japan, biscuits and cookies are almost the same, and there is no clear distinction between them. According to the Japan Biscuit Association, a cookie is a baked product the sum of the sugar content and the fat content of which is 40% or greater, but this definition does not always apply.日本では、ビスケットとクッキーは殆ど同じ物で、はっきりとした区別はありません。日本ビスケット協会によれば、クッキーとは、糖分と脂肪分の合計が40%以上の、焼いたものですが、この定義が必ず適用されるわけではありません。

March 15, 2011

One day before Valentine's Day, my daughter made those cookies (biscuits in British English) with the help of her mother. She gave them to friends (both boys and girls), a cousin, uncles, aunts, her brother, her mother, and of course, me.バレンタインの前の日に、娘は母親の助けを借りて、こんなクッキー（イギリス英語ではビスケット）を作りました。友達（男の子、女の子）、いとこ、おじさん、おばさん、お兄ちゃん、母親、そしてもちろん私にもくれました。

The three kanji (Chinese characters) are "tomo" (friend) and "naka", as in "nakama" (buddy, fellow).３つの漢字は「友」と「仲間」の「仲」です。This bag was for me!この袋は私のです！In Japan, Valentine's Day started around 1970s as a special day when a female could tell ("confess") a male that she loved him by giving him chocolate, partly due to the commercialism of some confectionery manufacturers. It has since then developed in a very Japanese way. Around 1980s, some females started to give what is called "giri choco" to male coworkers and friends just out of courtesy. And, now, there are other types of choco, "tomo choco" (chocolate given from female to female as a sign of friendship), "jibun choco" (chocolate given to herself), and "gyaku choco" (chocolate given from male to female).The chocolate given by a female to a male that she really loves is called "honmei choco".日本では、バレンタインデーは、一部の菓子メーカーの商業主義のせいもあり、女性が、愛する男性にチョコを贈ることで、愛していることを告げる（「告白する」）特別な日として1970年代頃に始まりました。その後、とても日本風に発展して行きました。1980年代頃に、いわゆる「義理チョコ」を男性の同僚や友人に義理でチョコをあげる女性が出てきました。現在では、他のタイプのチョコもあります。「友チョコ」（女性から女性へ友情の印としてあげるチョコ）、「自分チョコ」（自分自身にあげるチョコ）、「逆チョコ」（男性が女性にあげるチョコ）。女性が本当に愛する男性に贈るチョコは「本命チョコ」と呼ばれます。

I don't have enough time to write about White Day, so here is a link to White Day.ホワイトデーについて書く時間がないので、ホワイトデーのリンクを張ります。

Here are photos of all the gifts my daughter got for White Day.娘がホワイトデーでもらった贈り物の写真です。

A bouquet of flowers:花束：

Assorted chocolates:チョコの詰め合わせ：Rusk:ラスク：Purin (Japanese custard pudding):プリン：It's made from "yodo ran" (eggs rich in iodine), and the caramel sauce is made from brown sugar from Okinawa.「ヨード卵」でできていて、カラメルソースは沖縄産の黒糖からできています。Hand-made cake (cheesecake?)手作りケーキ（チーズケーキ？）Assorted chocolates:チョコの詰め合わせ："Kinoko no Yama" and "Takenoko no Sato" (top two) from Meiji, "Harvest" biscuits (cookies in the U.S.) from Tohato, and others:明治の「きのこの山」と「たけのこの里」（上の二つ）、東ハトの「ハーベスト」など：

March 13, 2011

It saddens me whenever I turn on the TV; NHK (state run) and all commercial TV stations have kept telling all the details about the recent unprecedented earthquake since it took place two days ago.But, anyway, life must go on, and I've kept thinking of good uses for okara, and made "okara bread" for lunch today. テレビを点ける度に悲しくなります。NHK（国営）、民放のテレビ局はすべて、二日前に起きた未曾有（みぞう）の地震についてずっと詳細を伝えています。それでも、人生は続けていかないと。私はおからのいい使い道を考え続け、今日は昼食に「おからパン」を作りました。

I mixed all the ingredients (I forgot to add salt!), and added some (about 30 g) water to adjust the texture.材料を全部混ぜ（塩を入れるのを忘れました！）、水を少し（30 g程度）足して、柔らかさを調整しました。I divided the dough into two portions, and baked each portion in the toaster oven for 10 minutes.生地を２つに分けて、どちらもオーブントースターで10分焼きました。As you can see, it looks more like naan than bread.ご覧の通り、パンと言うよりナンのようです。

I thought I would have it as Japanese pizza (with some pizza cheese, sesame seeds, katsuobushi (dried bonito shavings), and soy sauce), but my daughter came up to me and said she wanted to have it with retort curry. So did my son.和風ピザ（ピザソース、胡麻、鰹節、しょう油で）にして食べようと思ったのですが、娘がやって来て、レトルトカレーと食べたいと言いました。息子も然り（しかり）。Second portion:２つ目：My children had almost all of them. They said they were good!子供たちがほとんど食べてしまいました。美味しいと言ってました！

Me? I had two slices of store-bought regular bread with leftover tonkatsu.私は？残りの豚カツと市販の通常のパンを二切れ食べました。